Say you would like to go to a secure hotel room. You're some kind of important government official and would prefer to have a room where not any maid/spy can enter. You need to stay at a hotel with the Anykey system.
The Anykey locking system looks like a normal lock from the outside - just a place to insert a key. It also looks nearly the same from the inside - only you insert a key upside down. Here's the catch. You bring the keys with you. Since they are your keys you have no fear of stray manager/spy entering your room. It's not electronic, so nobody can hack in. You insert your master key on the inside, and until removed only your slave key will work.
How about this for inner workings. All you'd have to do is make the inside key with grooves in the opposite direction of the outside key (high lump close in on #1 = high lump far out on key #2). The inside key would be inserted upside down. Pins on the inside key are welded to little tubes each with an inner diameter of a pin. The tubes serve the function of the normal core instead of lining up to make a cylinder.
What about lock pickers? One might ask (hi jutta). Well, picking a lock is not a problem for true experts, but same with kicking your door down. This idea is not meant to completely replace existing security measures, but add a layer that doesn't currently exist - against the owners of the lock.-- Worldgineer, Oct 08 2003 From [phoenix] idea. http://www.halfbake...knob_20Key_20Cutter [Worldgineer, Oct 04 2004, last modified Oct 05 2004] computerized lock (archive) http://web.archive....computerized_20lock[jutta]'s version of a universal lock/key. (updating [phoenix]'s link, now that [jutta]'s cleaned her account) [Worldgineer, Oct 04 2004, last modified Oct 05 2004] computerized lock (archive) http://web.archive....computerized_20lock[jutta]'s version of a universal lock/key. (updating [phoenix]'s link, now that [jutta]'s cleaned her account) [Worldgineer, Oct 21 2004] I don't get it. Why bother with security at all if "You're some kind of important government official and would prefer to have a room where any maid/spy can enter,"?
Sounds like someone who likes to live dangerously and they can just leave the door unlocked altogether.
Maybe rename the idea "Nokey."-- bristolz, Oct 08 2003 Naturally, the door would have written on it: "Insert any key to continue :\"-- RayfordSteele, Oct 08 2003 I've answered [jutta]'s concerns in the text.
[bris] - Oops. Minor typo. I like Nokey. I'm not sure it fits though.-- Worldgineer, Oct 09 2003 Just bring a door wedge with you.-- oneoffdave, Oct 09 2003 How is the maid supposed to come in and clean the room while your gone?-- Cedar Park, Oct 09 2003 Is the key insert just an open rectangle? Keys have grooves running their length to help differentiate them, so that has to be taken into account, too. I didn't mention that in my idea, but I was working with the assumption the keyholder had an appropriate blank or existing key with which to work. In other words, my idea isn't truly universal.
All-in-all, I like [jutta]'s version best, but have concerns about power issues.-- phoenix, Oct 09 2003 [ood] This is fine when you're in the room, but not a great plan when you leave.
[CP] You mean the maid/spy? They'll just leave bugs or rifle through your important documents. Have your own people clean it.
[px] I would imagine you could just use a house key - not universal, but nothing really is.
I admit I suffered from [px]'s problem of having a solution and looking for the right problem to fit it to. I think this scenario works fairly well, though the market would be small.-- Worldgineer, Oct 09 2003 You shouldn't trust your 'own people'. They're out to get you, too.-- Cedar Park, Oct 11 2003 Bastards. Now you tell me. (starts watching back)
<off topic>I cleaned up a link. [jutta], let me know if you don't want me to link to your deleted ideas.</off topic>-- Worldgineer, Jun 26 2004 I would suggest that electronic locks with access logging are probably more practical. Although such systems would not prevent a hotel manager from granting someone access to a patron's room, they could prevent such access from being given without the guest discovering it.-- supercat, Jun 26 2004 I'd be nervous about an electronic system. It's like electronic voting - unless you really go throught the source code, the compiler, the electronics, and the mechanics you can't be sure it's not rigged. A mechanical lock can be designed such that you can verify it's security much more easily.-- Worldgineer, Jun 26 2004 random, halfbakery